


muddy boots and tailored suits

by artificialseo



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Cowboys, Fluff, M/M, ceo johnny, chenle and jisung are minor characters but its not a long story, farmer jaehyun, lapslock, sheep farmer taeil, yeehaw fluff land
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2020-02-16 00:48:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18680728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/artificialseo/pseuds/artificialseo
Summary: jaehyun thought he was missing something in his life long before a handsome dallas executive came into town, but until that point he hadnt known what it was.[not beta read, sorry for mistakes]





	1. Chapter 1

jaehyun and taeil worked a small ranch, not far outside of a smaller town in east texas. the people called it 'sheep shit palace' but it's official title was willow way, a name given by jaehyuns father. he had meant it as a joke at the time, but after he passed away jaehyun insisted they keep it.

taeil mostly tended his sheep, his truest passion. he had gone to art school in the city and though he spends his days sheering, you can tell he still has the mind of a painter, and the colors in his heart.

jaehyun had chickens, but he took care of most everything else on the farm. they had an old cow that barely put out milk but the effort was still put in. jaehyun had a kind soul and always did. as a child his teachers often noted him as almost too generous. he cared plenty for his land, and for his friend.

it was often that the two found themselves sitting on the edge of their property, old chairs underneath them that barely held their weight. plenty of beer and cool air to add to it, and to keep them relaxed. they liked to stare at the sunsets as much as they could.

“too many times we find ourselves workin’ past this part of the day,” taeil remarked while tipping the can back to his mouth.

“you say that like you don't rush your half chores at the end of the day just to get here.” jaehyun mimicked taeil, feeling the cool buzz inside him.

“so what if i walk a little faster, ain't nobody here to notice that but you.” taeil laughs and it echoes back to the sheep, who baa at him in return. “and.. maybe a few others,” he says with a smile.

jaehyun sighs, almost impatient, trying to keep it unnoticed behind his own small smile. but taeil knows him much better than that. jaehyun speaks up before the other can.

“sometimes i feel too much like i’m waitin’ on somethin’. i know we have so much here and i ain't never been happier in my life but i still.. feel that.. what's it called? starts with an l or somethin..”  
“longing”  
“yeah.. longin”  
“what exactly are you expecting, jaehyun?”  
“i wish i knew,” he says, taking back the last of his beer before tossing it out towards the fading sunlight.


	2. Chapter 2

jaehyun was walking the isles of the general store when he first saw him. a tall man, maybe taller than himself, with slicked black hair and a suit. somethin quite unlike the usual fellas who pass through here looking for a quick snack. he was standing at the register, speaking to the cashier but he looked more like he was asking something. the hand behind the counter pointed in jaehyun’s direction and the man followed with his head.

jae quickly looked away, didn't want to look like he was starin’. he went back to tryin to find those snacks taeil was talkin about. “you know the ones, all orange n crunchy, got pretzels in em too n whatnot.” he had no goddamn idea which ones but he was sure was tryin, until he heard footsteps coming up next to him.

“excuse me,” jaehyun turned to the voice coming from behind him, “do you know where i might find the pretzels? i asked the woman behind the counter but she pointed quite vaguely, so i’m not entirely sure where to go.” a scoff was heard in the distance.

jaehyun noticed more than a few things all at once. 

first was the man’s voice, very much different from any he’d heard, though it still had that very small hint of twang. sounded more like a northerner. 

second was that he looked like one, or at least, he looked like someone who didn't belong here. everything he wore was expensive and clean, even his haircut looked like it cost too much.

third was that he wore jewelry, not uncommon but most men around here don't have more than a wedding ring and maybe earrings if their nana got them done. he had delicate silver chains on his chest (which jaehyun just noticed was showing past his slightly unbuttoned shirt and the tie that was crooked and undone and the skin that was behind it-). 

he needed to stop staring at this man.

“they um, they’re uh just.. just right over here i’ll uh show you,” he muttered while moving almost too fast out of the way. he was followed and as soon as he was able to, he gestured a weak hand towards the snacks. 

“there ya go haha.” jaehyun was ready to leave but before he got two feet going the same way the man spoke again.

“i uhh, i’m so sorry but these aren’t brands we have up there would you.. mind giving me a recommendation?”

“up there?” jaehyun accidentally ignored the question.

“oh. oh my gosh that must've sounded so weird the way i said it, i just meant dallas is all.”

“haha, oh yeah.”

“so, any suggestions?”

“suggestions?” jaehyun sounded like an idiot parrot.

“yes, for pretzels? i’m not this picky with most food but i always got the same brand where i work but i don't see them here and i-”

“these,” jaehyun grabbed a bag quickly and handed them to the stranger without really lookin. he was starting to get nervous and it was only when it was pointed out to him that he noticed he had taken the.. worst looking of the bunch.

“they uh, don't.. look like much but they have a uh.. real nice s-salt to..to pretzel ratio.”

the man next to him looked at the bag suspiciously before he smiled and jaehyun thought he would faint.“thank you.”

jaehyun gave a small smile a nod back, dallas started walking away and jaehyun managed to spot and snag taeils damn 'chex mix' before he lost sight. fuckin taeil. he was gonna hear about this when they were home again and jaehyun just knew he'd be teased about it forever. jaehyun just chuckled and walked to the register, where he ended up right behind mr dallas.

he looked back over his shoulder before turning around, "let me get those for you." he said, smiling that damn smile again before putting out his hand for jaehyun (who had half a mind to place his own hand there instead of the chips) and jaehyun gave them over, while his face was given over to a deep blush.

dallas paid for their snacks and carried the bags out. jaehyun followed him without thinking.

"do you need a ride back or anything?" dallas said, walking towards his very very expensive looking car.

"uh no that's okay thank you."

"well, would you like to sit and talk for a while? i have nothing to really do and it feels nice to be out of the car for a second. we can eat our snacks together." dallas sat down on a patch of grass just outside of the parking lot.

"oh these aren't mine actually they're for my friend but i'll uh, still join you i suppose."

jaehyun sat down next to him and after a few seconds remembered he should probably talk.

"so.. what's your name? id feel bad talkin to someone and not havin a clue what they call themselves."

"im johnny, im a high level executive at s-... a company in downtown dallas. you?"

"im jaehyun and im a.. an assistant manager at a ranch in middle of nowhere texas."

jaehyun didn't think his joke was much but dallas, er, johnny still laughed at it. his laugh was just as rich as the rest of him and jaehyun thought it was probably the only thing he had so far that couldn't have a dollar amount placed on it.

"where are you goin?" jaehyun asked again.

"well, im actually not going very far. i pitched an idea to my company and they gave it the go, but only if i was the one who scouted out a place for it. and that's what i'm here for. lots of open land." 

he paused, a different look taking over his eyes that jaehyun was very much drawn to. not unlike the one he would often give to the sun as it fell behind the sky. 

"i like it a lot actually, traveling and seeing all these little spots, and driving through towns full of other people's lives. it's incredible to think about how much goes on in places you've never even heard of before..."

his face went back to the look it held when he started talking. "the only thing that sucks is out here, the hotels are so damn far away."

there was a small silence, and then jaehyun had an idea. probably a bad idea. most definitely a bad idea. but his mother raised him with that southern hospitality and taught him to share it as much as he could so…

"well i-if that's a big issue i could always.. well on the ranch we have a really big house, yanno? it uh, was made for a much bigger family than we have... so there's plenty of empty rooms and-"

"sure. id love to. you've not set off any red flags yet, and if nothing else i could just steal a horse and run away!" johnny laughed and jaehyun tried not to mention that the most they've really got is maybe one extra fast sheep.

"great! i'm not good at giving directions so just um, follow me in your car if that's alright?"

johnny smiled, nodded, and got up, walking towards his own car.

"oh and uh, i gotta warn you about taeil.. he's definitely gonna make some….. jokes about me bringin a strange man home like this."

johnny just laughed again and got into his car. jaehyun could see the sun starting to fall behind the trees.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is more the length of what the chapters will be from now on, although there wont be many. ill try and post them more regularly for yall too.

**Author's Note:**

> my twitter is @kyunlite. this is my first full fic, please be kind.


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